Krakow was a beautiful place. Everyone was friendly, the town centre was full of brightly coloured buildings, it's not a typical holiday destination but it was definitely worth visiting.
The suite we stayed in was very spacious, reasonably priced and had plenty of amenities, it was also only a short walk away from the town centre shown in the above photo.

The main reason we headed to Krakow is because I wanted to visit Auschwitz; I felt it was something I needed to do, it's something which is incredibly hard to write about, but I feel it's such an important place to visit although harrowing. Auschwitz is a powerful place and it moved me a lot. After all this time there is still no life there, no plants, no animals, just visitors, it was eerily quiet and extremely thought provoking. It's hard to fully picture what you learn about that period in time but when it's in front of you it suddenly becomes so very real and unfathomable. Even looking through the photos now I feel overwhelmed with emotion, but it's an important reminder of what happened and those that unfairly suffered. It can never happen again.

The Salt Mines contrasted this completely, they are honestly one of the most beautiful places I have visited. Although they don't sound particularly thrilling, seeing massive ballrooms with exquisite chandeliers all carved out of salt, was both fascinating and mind blowing. They were nothing like the mines I've seen in England, rather than small narrow tunnels, there were big open spaces. Plus the fact it was underground meant it was slightly cooler than outside, which provided a nice refresh from the heat of the sun.

The above two photos were taken in Schindler's Factory (now a museum). The top shows Schindler's artefacts in what would have been his office. I always find it fascinating that ordinary objects can link us to moments in history.